Vinyl Siding Sealer System

ABSTRACT

A moisture and vapor barrier strip of polymeric rubber material of preselected length, width and thickness is inserted between gaps of vinyl siding panels on each level of a home vinyl installation to restrict the passage of air, rain and snow around the vinyl siding panels into the interior of the home as weather conditions change.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

None.

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Research and development of this invention and application have not beenfederally sponsored, and no rights are given under any Federal program.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

NOT APPLICABLE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to vinyl siding attachments to the outer surfaceof a house, and, more particularly, to a barrier for restricting thepassage of rain, snow and moisture in general into the interior of ahome.

2. Description of the Related Art

As is known and understood, vinyl siding has become more and morepopular among homeowners because of the advantages it offers over otherexterior wall solutions. As an attractive, durable and exterior solutionto the use of wood or similar types of siding, one feature of the vinylsiding installation is its elimination of painting and maintenanceheadaches, to ensure the home's aesthetic appeal for many years.Offering a relative quick way to update the look of the home in a mannerthat the exterior will not peel, blister, flake, crack or corrode, thevinyl sidings available offer a variety of styles, colors andaccessories to create the desired look. Besides offering substantiallyonly a periodic washing to maintain the look of freshly painted wood,the vinyl siding industry has sought to promote the conversion to it byasserting its energy efficiency; by adding an insulating layer to thehome's exterior to help cut heating and cooling costs.

While all of this may be so, investigation and analysis has shown thattypical vinyl siding installations are susceptible to moisture, rain andsnow leakages on inside floor surfaces. Specifically, after eliminatingthe allowance of such leakages from chimney, facia or soffitinstallations, a focus on the vinyl siding itself led to the discoverythat the siding expands and contracts in accordance with changes inweather patterns. Specifically, testing and review have shown that suchproblems present themselves at the ends of the siding strips, where theyterminate both at inside and outside corners of the home installation.Suggestions of dealing with the situation through the use of siliconsealants are not generally long term solutions as their expectanciesnormally are approximately two years. Nor are they short term solutionsas they generally do not blend invisibly with the color or style of thesiding selected for the installation, but generally contrast with it.And, moreover, the seal provided by a silicone caulk would generallytend to open as the siding contracts with colder temperatures, and crackthe siding as it expands with hotter temperatures.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide a vinylsiding sealer system solution to the problem of air and moisturepenetration in vinyl siding installations at a home or other likestructure.

It is object of the present invention, also, to provide such a vinylsiding sealant solution to obviate the possibility of air and moistureleakage penetration around the ends of the siding both at inside andoutside corner couplings with the structure itself.

It is another object of the present invention to provide this type ofvinyl siding sealant solution which can be easily implemented as part ofan initial vinyl siding installation, as well as one which could beadded to one already existing and in place.

It is a further object of the invention to provide this type of sealantsolution which can be put in place simply and easily, by a homeownerhimself/herself, without any need for specialized training beforehand.

It is yet an additional object of the invention to provide this vinylsiding sealant solution characterized by requiring little to no clean-upafterwards and with minimal waste—both, at the same time as creating abarrier against moisture, rain and snow so as to protect the innerstructure of the home.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a vinyl siding sealantsolution to provide this barrier and insulation where the vinyl sidingterminates by window and door locations at the home, and where the vinylsiding “J” channels meet as well.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In order to appreciate the advantages of the present invention, arecognition must first be understood that previous prior artdescriptions exist of barriers in a construction of a home to restrictthe passage of liquid water and air into the structure. U.S. Pat. No.5,586,415 to Fisher et al., for instance, describes the acknowledgmentthat vinyl siding typically has configurations that tend to cause waterto collect behind it, particularly if the siding has not been installedor caulked carefully. Noting that moisture could then easily penetrateinto the building interior walls and other structures, recognition ismade that caulking the joints between the siding and the window or doortrim is helpful in preventing water collection and moisture penetration.Asserting that if the caulking is improperly applied or cracks as itages, and the water collection and moisture penetration problemsreturn—, Fisher et al., describes a unitary device which allows its easyinstallation adjacent to a window or door frame in conjunction with theinstallation of exterior siding to provide an effective watertight seal.

However, references exist in the litigation field that specific ones ofthese barriers have not worked as claimed. Realizing that this wouldgenerally necessitate the removal of the window or door frameinstallation to start anew, and that not all vinyl siding installationsare caulked properly to begin with, the present invention deals with theproblem simply and inexpensively through the use of polymeric rubbermaterials cut from off a roll to be compressed into the airspace wherethe vinyl siding couples to an inside corner or outside corner of thehome, or to the “J” channel which joins the strips together. As such,all that is required, according to the invention, is the pressureinsertion of a properly sized polymeric rubber material into the airspace to obtain the desired results of the invention and satisfy itsintended objectives.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features of the invention will be more clearlyunderstood from a consideration of the following description, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGS. 1 a-1 d are front, rear, right side and top views of a vinylsiding sealant embodying the invention, with a left side view and bottomview thereof being mirror images of the views of FIGS. 1 c and 1 d,respectively; and

FIGS. 2 a-2 c are illustrations of the insertion of the inventionsealant at various placements of a home vinyl siding installation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIGS. 1 a-1 d, the vinyl siding sealant of the invention is in theform of a moisture and vapor barrier strip—preferably of a polymericrubber material of either natural or synthetic rubber—available as astrip cut from a roll of such material, for example. The strip 10 is ofa length 12 selected to extend between bottom surfaces of adjacentvertically positioned parallel running vinyl siding pieces or panels.Ledge portions 14 of the strip 10, in this respect, are upwardly angledto receive the bottom surfaces of each vinyl siding piece—with thedepiction of FIGS. 1 a-1 d being that which is based upon a double-dutchlap vinyl siding as commonly installed on a home as an attractive,durable and exterior alternative to the use of wood or similar types ofsiding. The front view of the strip as shown in FIG. 1 a and the rearview as shown in FIG. 1 b illustrate the width of the moisture and vaporbarrier strip 10 as 16, with the top view of FIG. 1 d likewise showingthe width as 16, and the thickness of the ledge portions 14 as 18. Theside view of FIG. 1 c of the barrier strip more specifically shows theledge portions 14 and the thickness of the strip at its narrowest as 20.Recognizing that vinyl siding expands as temperatures rise and contractsas temperatures fall, the material selected for the barrier strip is onesufficiently malleable to be compressed inward in response to forcesexerted upon it, and to rebound to its original thickness when suchforces are released.

FIGS. 2 a-2 c illustrate the insertion of the vapor barrier strip ofFIGS. 1 a-1 d at various placements of the vinyl siding installation. Inthe outside corner installation of FIG. 2 a, the strip 10 is dimensionedfor insertion between the corner frame 30 and the vinyl siding panels32-35 such that the bottom surface of each (37) rest upon the upwardlyangled ledges 14 of the strip. In an original installation, the vaporbarrier strip may be positioned in place, and the corner frame 30thereafter secured over it by nailing. For existing installations, thecorner frame 30 can simply be pried somewhat rearwardly from its nailsecurements and the vapor barrier strip then force fitted into place tobe followed by simply pressing the cover frame 30 back to its originalposition. Alternatively, where space between the vinyl siding panels andthe cover frame 30 already exists, it becomes but simple manner offorcing the barrier into position.

The same situation will be understood to present itself in thearrangement of FIG. 2 b where a corner installation of vinyl sidingexists at the home installation. The strips could then be squeezed intoposition at the opposite side locations of the cover frame 40, wherethey abut with the vinyl siding panels 42-45. As with FIG. 2 a, themoisture and vapor barrier strips could be installed as part of aninitial siding installation or pressed between the cover frame and panelpiece of those already in place.

In the configuration of FIG. 2 c, where individual vinyl siding panelsin a given level are to be joined together in a “J” channel, the vaporbarrier strip 50 could again be inserted on either side of the “J”channel 51, coupling left and right side panels 52-55 together.

As will be understood, the resilient nature of the moisture vaporbarrier strip allows acceptance of an expanding vinyl siding panel tocompress it as the characteristics of the vinyl expand the sidinglinearly, when external temperatures rise. At the same time, when thevinyl contracts as temperatures fall, the resilience of the moisture andvapor barrier strip just returns its appearance and dimension to thatexisting at the time of its initial placement. In all arrangements,however, the barrier will be seen to restrict the flow of air, rain orsnow around the sides of the vinyl piece or panel, to prevent theoccurrence in many instances of pools of water on the inside of a homewhere the vinyl siding was installed. In this respect, it will beapparent to the skilled artisan that the upwardly angled ledge of thepolymeric rubber strip configures with and wraps to the contour of thebottom surfaces of each vinyl siding panel. Such polymeric strippreferably could be one of a natural or synthetic rubber composition,cut from a roll or otherwise.

While there have been described what are considered to be preferredembodiments of the present invention, it will be readily appreciated bythose skilled in the art that modifications can be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the teachings herein. For at least suchreason, therefore, resort should be had to the claims appended heretofor a true understanding of the invention.

1. A moisture and vapor barrier for a home vinyl siding installationcomprising a sealing component in the form of a strip and thickness,said strip being of a length to extend between bottom surfaces ofadjacent vertically positioned parallel running vinyl siding panels, ora width to extend between front and rear facing surfaces of said vinylsiding panels once snapped together, and of a thickness to span betweensnapped together gaps of vinyl siding panels aligned on a given level,with the moisture and vapor barrier strip being composed of a resilientpolymeric rubber to allow, when in place with a vinyl siding panel,expansion of the vinyl siding panel to compress into the strip astemperatures rise and to retain the original thickness of the strip astemperatures fall in contracting away the vinyl siding panel from thestrip wherein said resilient polymeric rubber strip includes a pluralityof upwardly angled ledges to configure with and wrap to the contour ofthe front stepped surfaces of adjacent vertically positioned parallelrunning vinyl siding panels of a vinyl siding installation; whereby, themoisture and vapor barrier strip restricts the passage of air, rain andsnow around the vinyl siding panel into the interior of a home asweather conditions change.
 2. The moisture and vapor barrier of claim 1wherein said resilient polymeric rubber strip is inserted between an endof a vinyl siding panel and an outside corner of a home vinyl sidinginstallation.
 3. The moisture and vapor barrier of claim 1 wherein saidresilient polymeric rubber strip is inserted between an end of a vinylsiding panel and an inside corner of a home vinyl siding installation.4. The moisture and vapor barrier of claim 1 wherein said resilientpolymeric rubber strip is inserted in an “J” channel between adjacentvinyl siding panels aligned of a home vinyl siding installation.
 5. Themoisture and vapor barrier of claim 1 wherein said resilient polymericrubber strip is cut from a roll of polymeric rubber material.
 6. Themoisture and vapor barrier of claim 5 wherein said polymeric rubberstrip is one of natural rubber and synthetic rubber material. 7.(canceled)